The Late Roman Silver Treasure from Traprain Law

Excavated from Traprain Law, East Lothian, Scotland, in May 1919, was one of the most spectacular discoveries of Roman silver ever made in Europe – and the biggest hoard of ‘hacksilver’: 23 kg of silver, battered, crushed and chopped up. Blame for the destruction has hitherto been laid at the door of ‘barbarians’ but this lavishly illustrated study changes that view.

An international team of scholars has reviewed the hoard’s origins and manufacture, its use as elite tableware, its hacking and later reuse. A century of new discoveries and ideas allow fresh conclusions, especially about the hacking. With wide-ranging parallels from across Europe, the authors argue that hacking was a deliberate policy to create bullion out of valued vessels at times of economic crisis.